Tips and Advice for Opening or Investing in a Pub, Bar, Restaurant or Nightclub Business

Experience is Essential when Starting a Pub

A lot of pubs are started and operated by owners that do not have experience in business, in running a pub or both. This can be a recipe for disaster unless the problem is acknowledged and addressed.

Family Pubs

For example, there are pubs that are family owned and operated with the owners actually living on the premises above the pub. In these cases, if the pub is successful, the family will have found the right formula to run the business efficiently.
However, in many family-run pubs, the business is usually not as good as it could be because of the lack of business experience for marketing, cost control or various other management areas.

Another common problem is that family operated pubs sometimes stick to outdated methods that worked in the past, but are not so appealing in today’s market. Change and innovation is sadly lacking in pubs that have not evolved with the times.

Joint Ventures

Pubs started by a few friends who feel that it’s a good idea to own a bar usually fail miserably as they do not have experience in opening a pub or running a bar.

Having business experience from another industry is a head start to understanding the requirements of managing a bar but it may not be enough to fully understand the inner workings of a pub.

An Experienced Team

One of the best ways to gain direct experience in starting and running a pub effectively is to learn from someone who has years of experience in operating successful pubs. There will be many tricks of the trade that you can be taught rather than learning the hard way.

If you’re one of these inexperienced owners, try to surround yourself with good, experienced managers and staff to assist in the startup.

1 thought on “Experience is Essential when Starting a Pub”

Totally agree. Experience is the most important asset for any pub owner or manager. If you don’t have it, go get it by working in another bar first before trying to run your own show. In fact, go work in a few pubs before even thinking about opening your own place.